Page 45 of Gold Rush
“Oh.” I skirt around the counter toward the fridge. “It’s okay, you don’t have to cook for me.”
Bennett leans up, his hip pressed against the island as he glances at me and then Arin. “Are you sure?”
“I can make myself something.” I jerk the fridge open, sticking my head inside and sucking in a deep breath of the cool air, already feeling flushed again. I canfeelthem both looking at me, and it’s making my brain a little cloudy as I try to focus on the random assortment of ingredients instead of the memory of Seth’s hands on me, his lips dragging over my stomach, and his tongue circling my clit —
“Would you like pancakes again? Or an omelet?”
I jolt back, letting the fridge door shut as I look over at Bennett. “You really don’t?—”
“You should let him.” Arin interrupts me. My focus snaps to him as he clears his throat. The alpha’s bodylooksrelaxed, but his hands white-knuckle grip the counter behind him. “We’ve all tried to stop him, but he loves to cook. It doesn’t matter what it is.” He pauses. “We want to give you what you need.”
My perfume lightly scents the air.Surely, he didn’tmeanto make that sound so dirty. I feel my cheeks heat, aware I’m trapped between two alphas. Arin’s gaze narrows, somethinghungryin the gesture.
Bennett moves behind me and I glance over at him sharply.
“What do you need, June?” His lips twitch at the edges. “What can I do for you?”
Oh, fuck you. I stare at him, my heart in my throat, praying he can’t suddenly hear my thoughts.Fuck Seth too. Fuckmebecause I’m an idiot.
Two alphas in one room isn’t at all soothing. I’m a warm meal with legs.
My skin feels like it’s going to peel from my body as Arin shifts, restrained but singularly focused. “You don’t have to tell us, but it would be nice to give you something you’d like.”
I’m intimately aware of the two of them glancing at each other, playing the tension in the air like a resonant chord. This is a different Arin from the one I met in his office — the sweet alpha who held me and insisted I rest is gone, replaced with a ravenous predator.
The energy in the kitchen shifts, like Bennett is waiting for Arin’s thin grasp to crumble.
I feel heat at my back as Bennett moves, resting a hand on the fridge door. His chest brushes me and the hair stands on my arms as the world spins, temporarily off its axis.
Bennett tilts his head down and I look up at him, my lips parting as he mutters, “You’re flushed, you should sit down, June. Let me get you some water.”
I stare at him, my mouth dry as I nod dumbly.
Bennett smiles, and I turn slightly, backing up a step, intending to go around the counter to one of the barstools, but instead, I run right into Arin’s chest.
My heart feels like it’s going to beat out of my body as I make a little noise, looking back at Arin, my eyes widening at how close he is. He dips his head down, his pupils a void of blown-out darkness against the brown of his eyes as he breathes in. I watch his resolve crumble in real-time as I get a hit of mint, the smell alone making me want to fall to my knees in front of him.
Arin could use me and then Bennett could use Seth and then they could both watch while we used each other —
Bennett touches my arm and then he’s pulling me away. The space gives me the clarity to blink rapidly as he fills a glass with ice water and then presses it into my hand. I drink it, my face feeling hot as I try to focus on the water instead of Arin staring at me like he wants to break Bennett’s arm.
His eyes track me as I take a step toward a stool, trying to ignore my heating blood.
“Will you go to dinner with me?”
I nearly drop the glass, it hitting the island with a clink as I stare at Arin.
He pushes his glasses up with a finger, clearing his throat. “Tonight. You and I will go out.”
I glance at Bennett as he purses his lips, trying and failing to hide the bemused smile on his face. Biting my tongue, I glance back at Arin, who looks as dazed as Bennett, himself, looked in the fitting room a few days ago.
Bennett raises an eyebrow at me, his eyes darting to Arin, as if to say,Well? Don’t torture him.
I sink down onto one of the barstools, looking over at the prime, nodding with a shy smile. “Okay. Tonight.”
“Good.” Arin takes a step back, brushing nonexistent dirt off his pants as he turns one way, then the other. “Right — I have — work — tell Bennett what to feed you, please.” He leaves immediately and I stare at the archway, covering my mouth with my hand as I fight laughter.
Bennett returns to the list across from me on the island, jotting something else down and spinning the pen between his fingers.
